WARSAW, Novermber 12. /TASS/. 23 policemen and 24 protesters were injured in the clashes that broke out on Tuesday, 11 November, in the capital of Poland, during Independence march organized by the nationalists, the local law enforcement authorities report.
A big group of aggressive young men was waiting for a column of protesters at the National Stadium where the march marking the Independence Day was supposed to end.
The provokers in masks hurled firecrackers, smoke flares, rocks and Molotov cocktails at police. The police had to use water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets against them.
Some tens of thousands people took part in the march. The police reports 30,000, while the organizers say that 100,000 marchers were in the streets. The police arrested more than 276 offenders, the spokesman of the commandant general of police, Mariusz Sokolowski, said. According to him, the majority of rioters were football fans from Polish football clubs.
The Warsaw administration said the hooligans damaged the city’s infrastructure. Traffic signs, fences, pavement and tram stops were damaged.
In other cities of Poland celebrations on Independence Day took place without incident. In total, 634 mass events were held across the country.